21070: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Help for Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Help for Haiti

By Krysten Chambrot
special correspondent

April 2, 2004

Marie Ingrid Chrisphonte teaches grammar at Nova Middle School in Davie, but
she has fund raising down to a science.

And it's all in the name of helping children in Haiti.

As coordinator of Nova Middle's Operation Rescue Haiti project, Chrisphonte
uses spreadsheets and a labeling system to keep up with the items students
donate to send to needy students in Haiti.

Each day, students in Chrisphonte's homeroom put on their homemade Haitian
flag necklaces and collect bags and boxes of canned goods, clothing, toys,
books and shoes from other homeroom classes.

They pack, label and sort the donations, making sure everything is in good
condition.

As of March 24, students had donated 4,485 items, which Chrisphonte, who
teaches English as a second language, documents on the spreadsheets.

The homeroom class that donates the most items wins a pizza party.

"The kind of great work she's done here is outstanding," said Jean F. Colin,
executive director of the Haitian Health Foundation of South Florida Inc. in
Cooper City.

Colin, who moved to the United States from Haiti in 1971, started the
project by sending an e-mail seeking help to Broward County Schools
Superintendent Frank Till. Till forwarded the e-mail to principals and the
message eventually reached Chrisphonte.

She began collecting items on March 18 and hopes to continue through today.

Chrisphonte's students collect an average of 30 bags and boxes per day. The
response has been so overwhelming that she stores many of the donations in a
neighboring teacher's classroom.

"It's a beautiful thing," said Chrisphonte, who is also of Haitian descent.
Her parents live in Haiti, and she saw Operation Rescue Haiti as a chance to
help her country.

She says the project helps her Haitian students.

"It makes them feel very good that they're helping their country," she said.

"I wanted to help," said Gabriel Ivo, 14, of Coconut Creek. "I have a lot of
Haitian friends. Maybe their parents are still over there."

Ivo packed and labeled the donations for Chrisphonte.

Colin also found help through Food For The Poor Inc. The Deerfield Beach
organization collects the donated items from Nova Middle because they no
longer fit in Colin's car. Food For The Poor plans to ship and distribute
the goods in Haiti once they have collected enough to fill a 40-foot
container. All donations will go specifically to Haitian children through
Food For The Poor's hospitals, orphanages, schools and feeding programs.

Nova Middle is not the only school collecting donations to help Haiti. Colin
also has received donations from Piper High, Cypress Run Alternative,
Seagull School, Fairway Elementary and Stirling Elementary.

Colin thanks everyone for their assistance in the project.

"This is an unbelievable outpouring of affection and love," said Colin.

But he cites Nova Middle and Chrisphonte's efforts as the model for the
project.

"She's the one who made it a science," said Colin.
Copyright © 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

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